SPRING 2010 LETTER from Cherie R. White - Methodist Seminary, Mexico City
SPRING 2010 LETTER from Cherie R. White - Methodist Seminary, Mexico City
Recently, a student in chapel mentioned how he often feels tired on the weekend after an arduous week of classes, but then has to go preach at his 2 weekend pastoral appointments & often feels he does not have the energy to do so. As he walks the 40 minutes between one church & the next, he ponders on the previous worship service & the joy of the upcoming one, since the members of the church are always glad to see him & be able to worship. He gave thanks for that privilege & the renewal it entailed for him.
After being gone from the seminary all of last semester, as I visited my supporting churches, I have found that it is good to be back relating to students once again & helping them to visualize in practical ways what ministry is all about. Even though I am teaching Church History II & History of Methodism, we can dip deeply into the waters of the past to see how the Church understood & developed ministry over time.
Part of our student’s preparation for ministry is participating in our January Workshops which began shortly after the Christmas interlude. We had an excellent workshop on “Christology from a Latin American Perspective” by Dr. Nancy Bedford from Argentina, but a professor at Garrett-Theological Seminary in Chicago now. Another workshop was on “Evangelism from a Wesleyan Perspective” by former GBGM missionary Robert Hunt who is now at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Our next activity was to take the students to Tlancualpican, State of Puebla to the “Give Ye Them to Eat” program of the Methodist Church of Mexico, coordinated by GBGM missionaries Muriel & Terry Henderson (check out their web site—they receive church groups from the U.S.). We all learned about alternative, sustainable projects for rural areas. We built structures in eroded areas to recuperate land, made solar ovens, made gardens for small plots, milked goats, & learned about the care for worms to aerate the soil; all of this by hands-on doing. We go every other year & go alternating the projects we learn about, so that in 4 years, the students will learn about all the resources the project offers, & be able to implement them themselves. Most of our students will be in a rural community at some time & thus can help extend these services wherever they go.
With so many natural disasters throughout the world, such as Haiti, Chile & Turkey, most recently, I encourage you to donate to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee for Relief) through your Annual Conference, or directly through their web site.
We are on the verge of celebrating Jesus’ passion, death & resurrection. We need the joy & good news of the resurrection & the promise of new life that it gives us today; but let us not forget that it was preceded by cruel suffering & death. As Christ gave his life for us, let us remember the many people, who throughout the world, suffer cruelly from hunger, war, lack of justice (loss of jobs, homes, schooling, etc.), and above all, the lack of human dignity, especially that of women who continue to die & disappear unjustly.
May we use our talents & gifts so that a “new heaven and new earth” be a reality for our world now & I give thanks for your support as I serve in Mexico.
Personal mailing address:
Apartado 20-392
01001 Mexico, D.F.
Mexico
E-mail: velwhite@gmail.com
You can continue to support the training of the future ministers of the Methodist Church of Mexico through the following GBGM approved Advance projects for the Dr. Gonzalo Baez Camargo Seminary:
• Baez Camargo Seminary Advance # 3020734
(to purchase books & periodicals for the Library & to update Computer Room)
• Baez Camargo Seminary Scholarships Advance # 10528B